Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to aids for efficiently and effectively dispensing liquids. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for accurately dispensing, monitoring, quantifying, and controlling liquids provided to one or more animals.
Many systems and methods have been created to provide water and feed to animals such as livestock. Some such systems are designed to dispense predetermined quantities of feed or liquids at daily predetermined times. In one form, a quantity of animal feed is measured based upon criteria such as weight or volume. After measurement, the feed is transferred to an intermediate hopper, which then transfers the feed to the animal. Other similar systems allow an animal to access feed through an opening in a hopper that is sized such that the feed is larger than the opening, thereby restricting the amount of feed available to the animal. In such a system, the animal gnaws the feed accessible through the opening, and, upon consumption of a desired amount of feed, the opening is closed to prevent further consumption. Some such systems are activated or controlled manually by one or more users, while others automatically dispense food at pre-programmed times. In addition, some such systems are designed to feed a single animal, whereas others are designed for several animals.
Similarly, feeding and watering systems have been designed for large herds of animals such as cattle. In some such systems, each animal of the herd has an electronic tag or collar for identification. At feeding time, the cattle are herded into stalls. Individual stall gates close after one of the animals enters the respective stall, forcing the remaining cattle to continue into other unoccupied stalls. Once an animal is contained in a stall and the gate is closed, a feeder dispenses a specific, predetermined quantity of feed based upon the electronic information provided by the animal's electronic tag or collar.
In addition to dry food such as feed, systems and methods are available for dispensing water or other liquids to animals. In its most simplistic form, a water reservoir is connected to a valve that is accessible to the animal. When the animal actuates the valve, typically by pressing on the valve with its mouth, water is released. Examples range from individual water bottles for gerbils or similar rodents to more complex, networked drinking systems for animals such as poultry or cattle. Some such systems are equipped with manual or automatic purge cycles to remove stale or contaminated water from the drinking lines.
Distinct from animal watering systems, many other systems and methods have been created to control water flow. Some of these systems and methods have been designed to terminate water flow based on various user-determined parameters. In one such system, water flow is terminated when a hazardous or wasteful condition occurs. Some examples include water flow termination due to broken pipes or water mains, leaking pipes or water mains, and continuously running toilets. These systems include a water flow meter for detection of the hazardous or wasteful condition and an electronic shut-off valve for termination of water flow.
Similarly, products have been created to terminate water flow before a hazardous or wasteful situation occurs. For example, some systems terminate water flow upon the occurrence of a pressure increase in a pipe, hose, or water main. Other such systems terminate water flow when continuous flow occurs beyond a predetermined time period. Other similar systems totalize water flow and indicate the need for replacement of a water treatment filter or the like when totalized water flow exceeds a predetermined value.
In addition to systems and methods for terminating water flow, systems and methods have also been created to supply water to a variety of elements such as nozzles and the like in predetermined quantities and at predetermined times. Some such systems include supermarket produce and lawn sprinkler systems. Such systems are typically pre-programmed with a time schedule for systematically supplying water to each nozzle in the system simultaneously or to individual nozzles at corresponding dedicated times.
However, what is needed is a more effective system and method for accurately quantifying and controlling liquids provided to one or more individual, manually-actuated valves that may be optimized, at a user's discretion, to simultaneously perform multiple functions including, but not limited to: providing liquids to one or more animals simultaneously, monitoring each individual animal's liquid consumption, controlling the quantity of liquid consumed by each individual animal during one drinking event, controlling the quantity of liquid consumed by each individual animal during a predetermined time period, controlling time lapse between consecutive drinking events, allowing one or more users to alter each individual animal's drinking parameters, preventing wasteful liquid flow, accurately quantifying each animal's liquid consumption, and providing alarms to all system users simultaneously.